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Monday, 3 March 2014

Builders eye Myanmar, Malaysia

Major builders and engineering firms here are seeking to win more mega construction and plant project orders in Myanmar and Malaysia with full support from the government.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Sunday that it has dispatched a special team of government officials led by Minister Suh Seoung-hwan to support Korean builders.The team was joined by representatives from over 10 private builders, including Hyundai Engineering & Construction (E&C), Samsung C&T, Daelim Inustrial and Ssangyong E&C as well as the state-run Korea Water Resources Corporation, Korea Expressway Corporation and Korea Rail Network Authority.

During the five-day trip through Thursday, the delegation will meet government officials from Malaysia and Myanmar that each plans to develop social infrastructure such as high-speed rail networks, refineries, power plants and water management facilities, according to the ministry.

It said the development projects will be put up for bidding in the first half of the year at the earliest.

“Asia has emerged as Korea’s key market for construction and plant businesses,” said Park Byung-seok, a director at the ministry’s overseas construction support division. “In particular, a large number of project bids which we have recently won came from Southeast Asia, making it strategically important.”

Some $3.5 billion of the total amount comes from Malaysia alone, he said.

“The amount of bids we won in Malaysia was the sixth largest around the world in 2013,” he said.

Between Sunday and Tuesday, Suh will attend ministerial-level talks with his Malaysia counterpart to discuss ways of cooperating to building a $12 billion-worth railway network for a bullet train connecting Malaysia and Singapore.

Other projects that will be discussed include construction of $800 million-worth Mass Rapid Transit system, a railroad network in and around Kulala Lumpur, a $20 billion refinery, an $800 million liquefied natural gas plant and an $800 million power plant in Pengerang.

The delegation will visit Myanmar between Wednesday and Thursday to draw support from the Myanmese government for Korean builders to participate in a management project for the Irrawaddy River. The 2,170 km long river is the largest in the country and also the most important commercial waterway.